When The Past Catches Up To You
by K.A. Greenwick
Summary: Evangeline Jay is a klutzy, kindergarten teacher who is perfectly happy with her life. But when she's pulled into a world that's turning her upside down. How will she handle that? Steve/OC
1. Chapter 1

Evangeline Jay sat the small cafe, which was fairly busy. People loved to come here for a slight chance to see the infamous Iron Man fly by. It was rare, but it happened. She'd never actually seen it, and it wasn't a dream of her's to see it, but it would be a real sight to see. Evie sat at a small little table off to the side. She wasn't accompanied by anyone. She actually wanted the loneliness, for what she was doing required it. Evie was grading homework her kindergartners had done for. It amused her to read the scribbled words in crayon.

On each paper, she would put a sticker of a different colored smiley face, no matter how well they did. Every time Evie would pass them back, the kids would light up with happiness, then show them around, boasting about who had what color. It made her smile to see such a perfect moment.

She loved kids. Evie didn't have her own, but she found they were adorable, and loved how they were so accepting of anyone. Evie had to admit, dealing with twenty energetic kids for five days a week, was stressful. But luckily, there was always summer vacation, which was coming up very quick. Almost every year, her graduating kids would tell them all about how their summer went. She'd only been a teacher for two years, but she loved her job. It was something she loved to do. And weren't those the best kinds of jobs?

With the tests halfway complete, she decided to gather up her things and leave. She did have a dinner to catch with her grandparents. So, she scooped up the stickers and homework sheets, payed for the hot chocolate, and took her leave.

Every time Evie was late, her gran always told her how she thought Evie was laying in the middle of an alleyway dead. Evie always explained how she shouldn't worry so much. But then her gran would say that it was in her genes. Then her papa would say that he was watching TV and the two of them needed to pipe down.

The sidewalks were pretty much just as busy as the streets, so, Evie decided to stick close to the edge. Which was a good idea in retrospect, but after the breeze started to turn into stronger winds, wasn't the best idea. As the winds blew, a few papers flew out of her hands and into the street. Evie knew it wasn't safe, but she ran out to the street, and began to pick them up as quickly as she could. But apparently, she wasn't quick enough. Evie heard the sounds of cars flying by her, as she was pulled out from the street.

"What were you doing out there? You were almost killed," a kind, but stern, voice asked. Except she barely paid any attention to the voice, as she was busy counting the number of papers she had.

"...Eighteen, nineteen, twenty! Ha!" she exclaimed with joy. Then she tucked her papers inside her bag with a smile perched on her lips.

"Ma'am?" the voice asked once more. She finally looked up to see a very tall man with blond hair, swept and slicked back to the side. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you just run into the middle of a New York street for a bunch a papers?" he asked awestruck.

"Oh! Well, you see, I teach kindergarten, and I was grading these papers at that cafe over there-" she turned and pointed across the street. "-and as I was walking, there was this wind, then the rest is pretty clear. Well, I at least hope it is." After she finished her short explanation, she smiled. Then a realization came over her. "Oh! I forgot! Thank you! I forgot to say thank you, and you just saved my life from getting hit by a car. Well, it wouldn't be the first time I got hit by a car. In the fifth grade, I was riding my bike home and-" Evie was interrupted by her cell phone's ring. "Oh, bother." She dug around her purse for her phone, then she found it. Evie read the caller ID, then answered "Gran? Hi!"

"Where are you at? Dinner started ten minutes ago, and your papa is getting grumpy," her gran explained through the phone. Evie could hear her papa watching a sports game on the other end of the phone.

"Just start dinner without me. I'm never going to make it in time," she claimed.

"We will not start dinner without you! Just hurry up and get here as soon as you can!" And with that, her gran hung up the phone, leaving Evie staring at her phone blankly.

She then looked back up to the blond-haired man, and said, "I'm really sorry, but I have to get somewhere really quick. Maybe if you save my life another time-"

"I could give you a ride, you know," he offered. At first, Evie was confused as to how he knew she needed a ride, but then she figured that he must have heard her very loud mother on the phone.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother or anything-" she began to say.

"It's fine. Now, would you like that ride?" She nodded. "Then let's go," he said. The man began to walk down the street, then stopped at a very nice looking black motorcycle.

"Is this, uh, safe?" Evie asked, causing the man to laugh.

"Yeah, it's safe," he chuckled. He got on the motorcycle, then turned it on. He turned around, and waited for Evie to get on. "You're coming right?" She nodded hesitantly, then eventually climbed on. Her fingers clutched onto his brown jacket. "You've never ridden on a motorcycle before?"

"I don't even like riding in the car with the windows down," she told him with a concerned expression.

"Well, then you better hold on tight, ma'am." And with that, the motorcycle sped off. Evie gave instructions like, turn left or right, go straight. Things like that. Eventually, they pulled to a stop at a two-story blue house with flowers in the front. "Lovely home," he said to her, eyeing the home.

"Thank you. But it isn't mine. I mean, it was, but I don't don't live here anymore," Evie babbled.

The man turned back to his motorcycle and said, "Well, have a nice day, ma'am." But before he could leave, Evie stepped in front of the man's motorcycle, and stood defiantly.

"Uh, no you don't," she said to him. "You saved my life twice in one day. You deserve a dinner."

He gave her a questioning look then said, "I only did that once."

"If you didn't give me a ride, then my mother would have killed me. So, get off the motorcycle and let's go eat."

* * *

Evie and the man walked up to the front porch. During their silent walk, she realized something. "Oh, wait, what's your name?" she asked, not even knowing the first letter of his name.

"My name is Steve Rogers," he greeted.

Evie smiled and held out her hand, "I'm Evangeline Jay. But no one calls me Evangeline. Well, my gran does, but only when she'd mad at me or something." Then she stopped herself, realizing she was babbling. "You can call me Evie." He took her hand and smiled.

"That's a great name," he answered. In response, Evie smiled, then the door burst open.

Evie's gran, Gwendolyn, stood in the doorway. Which Evie found quite amusing, as the doorway was much, much taller than she was. "Well there the hell you are! What in the name of-Oh, hello. Evie, sweetheart, who is this?" Gwendolyn asked, pointing to Steve. It amazed Evie how her gran could be so furious with her, then the sweetest person in the world in less then five seconds.

"This is Steve Rogers. Steve, this my grandmother, Gwendolyn," she introduced.

"Come on in, come on in," she called, waving the two inside the house. The house was filled with the aroma of meatloaf. Evie's gran's meatloaf was the best she ever had, and she loved whenever she made it.

"Hi, papa," Evie said, walking over to her papa, John, with a smile. Every time she came over to eat, her papa would be sitting in his raggedy lounge chair that he refused to get rid of. Which drove her gran crazy, since it smelled like cigar smoke.

"Hey, pumpkin. Who's you friend?" her papa asked, still watching his game intently. But somehow the man was still able to focus on his games, and other things, all at once.

Evie waved Steve over to take a seat next to her. "Papa, this is Steve."

Her papa finally tore away from his television long enough to shake Steve's hand, and when he turned and saw his face, he looked absolutely dumbfounded. "Captain?" he asked, his eyes locked onto the guest. "I know you don't remember me or anything, but I was in one of the troops you rescued. I never did get a chance to thank you."

"Meatloaf's ready!" Gwendolyn called from the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been an hour since Steve and Evie first arrived at her grandparents' home. Everything was going well and people were getting along just well. Her grandfather had pulled Steve to the side to have a private conversation. Evie stood in the kitchen with her gran. "What do you think they're talking about?" Evie questioned, helping her set up the table.

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know." She obviously knew. Evie had learned the woman's give-aways after spending so long with her. Why was she lying to her? "Dinner!" she called out. Soon after, her papa and Steve sauntered in together. Steve walked over to her with a reassuring smile. But Evie wasn't so reassured. Everyone sat for dinner. The first few minutes were filled with idle chit-chat. None of the questions ever flung towards Steve's personal life. Which struck her as odd. Her grandparents were always very nosey people.

Her gran then burst out with something out of the ordinary. "Did you know-" _Oh, God. Not this. _"Steve, that when Evie was in high school, she was top of her class. She was a genius."

"I was not," she objected. Evie felt the redness creep up to her cheeks. "I mean, yes, I _was _top of my class, but I _wasn't _a genius." Evie's short curly hair fell in front of her face. She quickly swept the lock behind her ear. It fell back out seconds after.

Gwendolyn waved a hand, ignoring her daughter. "Evie could have been anything she wanted, but she chose to be a teacher. The girl drives me nuts, but I love her." Gwendolyn looked over to her granddaughter with a smile. Steve seemed impressed, but he didn't say anything. She noticed how his shining blue eyes glanced over at her

Evie's papa then began telling a story about his war days, when there was a knock at the front door. "I'll answer it," Evie stated, standing from her chair. There was a knock again at the door. "I'm coming!" she replied to the knocks. When she opened the door, a man with a pristine suit and a Bluetooth piece sticking out of his ear. Evie instantly stiffened, knowing this man was of SHIELD. "May I help you?"

"I need to speak with Steve Rogers," he confirmed. She relaxed instantly, then called Steve over. What did SHIELD want with Steve? Was he in some sort of trouble? Was calling him over a mistake? Evie wouldn't find out until the time came.

"Agent Coulson. Is everything alright?" he asked. So, he knew the SHIELD man. How?

The man, Coulson, was eyeing Evie up and down. "No. We need you back at work," he instructed, Steve nodded, then went to say goodbye and gather his things. "What's your name?" the agent asked with skepticism.

She knew that if she told him her real name, she would be taken into SHIELD custody. Evie couldn't afford that. Not right now anyway. "Uh, Marina Marcos," she lied terribly.

"No it isn't," he said, matter-of-fact.

Her expression turned apologetic. "I know. I'm sorry."

That was when Steve returned with his things. "What are you sorry about?" he asked.

"Let's go, Miss Jay. The Director would love to have a chat with you," Coulson explained. Steve was obviously confused, but he couldn't do anything more than stand there.

Evie asked him for a moment, then she turned around and went to her grandparents, saying goodbye and that she'd see them next time. "Alright, sweetheart. Just stay out of trouble," her gran explained with sincerity.

She returned, meeting Coulson and Steve at the door. "Steve, please make sure Miss Jay doesn't go anywhere." Steve did as he was told, he looking at Evie with a concerned, and confused, expression. She definitely wasn't getting out of this easily.

A car took Agent Coulson, Steve, and Evie to a SHIELD quinjet, which then took them to the Hellicarrier, something that was real sight to see. Everywhere you went was filled with people. You couldn't turn one corner, and not be surrounded by people. Agent Coulson took the lead through the crowded hallways. Evie figured she could slip away in these hallways, but she thought it would be best not to. Plus, Steve was right behind her, so it would be hard to leave unnoticed.

Evie decided to keep her head towards the floor, feeling very uncomfortable in this situation. She chewed at the skin on her bottom lip; something she did when she was nervous.

Eventually, the three of them made it to a room with rows and rows of computers, with people at each one. They were all doing something; running face scans, hacking into security cameras, something along the lines of that. Then there was a man who stood between two computers. He wore a long leather jacket over his black SHIELD uniform. When he turned around, Evie saw an eye-patch covering his left eye, the dark skin around it was scarred.

Off to the side, she saw a table, filled with three people. Well, four, actually, after Steve sat down. Was that Tony Stark she saw?

"Sir," Coulson said, then the man in all black turned around. "I brought in someone you'll probably like to meet." He directed the man towards Evie, who stood awkwardly in the crowded room.

"Well, look who it is," he said with a deep and sturdy sigh. "So, how's life been for you, Miss Jay?" Director Fury was a brutish, but wise, man. She knew this from personal experience.

"Oh, well, it's been very nice actually. My students this year were quite well-behaved, and they were always quiet in the hall-"

He interrupted her with a snarl. "I don't mean with your students, Miss Jay. I mean with Program-Y. We know you've recommissioned the Program, and built it into a very angry robot," he stated, putting Evie in a very bewildered stature. "And now, it's gallivanting around New York for a while now, killing a few people. A select few-"

"That's not possible, Director. I mean, I made the programming for Program-Y, yes, when I was sixteen. I wasn't even sure it worked. But we all agreed to decommission it when you came to us. We thought it would be the best idea. Plus, the stupid thing was designed for a science fair. The model we designed was made for jokes," she explained honestly. Then something in her head clicked. "You said Program-Y was...was killing people? Who are the victims?"

"I'm sorry, but you don't need to know-"

Evie stood up from her chair, her voice rising instantly. "I"m sorry, Director, but it _is _my business." Then she cleared her throat, and sat back down in her seat. The Director obviously seemed stunned from her outburst. "I'm sorry for raising my voice. But sir, I do need to know who Program-Y is killing. It could be of great significance to the occurrences."

She looked at him with large, saucer-like eyes. He sighed, then answered, "He's killed Wyatt Derritt, and Elizabeth Woo." Evie blinked in a horror, staring at the table. Evie's hand gripped onto the arm rest of the chair. "Miss Jay, is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"Wyatt Derritt and Elizabeth Woo were close friends in high school. They were the designers of Program-Y's body. The two of them were flawless designers. Those two put together could design the best exo-suit ever. With the right tools, Program-Y's body could have been nearly impenetrable. They were geniuses," she rambled with a smile, thinking back to their times in high school. Then she looked back up to the Director, and said in an urgent voice, "You need to take me Dr. Christian Sanders. He and I both worked on the programming of, well, Program-Y. It seems to be exacting revenge on those that he was destroyed by. But my question is, who recommissioned him?"

"Captain, Iron Man, suit up. You're taking Miss Jay, to Dr. Sanders," he ordered. Then the two sprung from their seats and ran down the hallways. "Are you sure that Program-Y's next target is Dr. Sanders?"

"Y-yes. I'm positive. If anyone is his next target, it's Christian. Plus, it's the last target," she pointed out.

"Other than you, Miss Jay," he replied, which made Evie cringe with fear. The Director seemed to be talking to someone in his Bluetooth device, then he looked back at Coulson and said, "Take her down to the hangar. Captain and Iron Man are ready to go."

* * *

The ride was silent, for most of the way anyway. Tony Stark was the first to speak up. "So, do you mind explaining what Fury was talking about?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to Steve, where the two just watched the nervous teacher.

She twirled her fingers around each other, then began, "Well, in high school, I was top of my class. I was only sixteen, and I'd mastered programming and circuitry. Nothing on your level, of course," she said to Tony, he smiled in pride. "Anyway, I was a lonely kid, you know? Never really had any friends until I met Elizabeth, Wyatt, and Christian. We were all extremely gifted. Then, Christian and I designed Program-Y. We were teenagers who just wanted to build a helpful robot. We were going to bring him in for the science fair, but then SHIELD stepped in. They said we had to decommission Program-Y, or they would." By the end of the story, Evie was staring at the ground, feeling the full weight of guilt burrowing into her heart. "And now it's my fault that my only friends are dead, or about to be. God, I should have kept a closer eye on them."

Steve then walked over to her, and knelt beside her. "It isn't your fault," he assured her.

"But it is! _I_ designed Program-Y. I told the rest of them how he worked, how you could bring him back. It was simple. And I should have never told them. If I didn't tell them, they wouldn't have been dead," she finished.

Steve was going to say something else, then the pilot cut him off, explaining that they had arrived at Christian's apartment building. Stepping out of the plane and onto the roof, Evie was the first who was running through the door leading down to the rooms. "Evie!" she heard a voice call off in the distant. She knew it was Steve, but she kept running. In her head, she replayed Christian's door number. Then she stopped when she saw. Evie stopped in front of D21, she was waiting for Tony and Steve. "Evie, you can't just do that. We don't know if Program-Y is here."

She ignored Steve, then said,"This is it." Evie went to check if the handle was unlocked, and when she went to turn it, the door swung open. At the floor, sitting in his own pool of blood, was Christian Sanders. Evie instinctively knelt by him. "Oh, God, Christian. What happened to you?" Christian's face was bruised and battered and covered with fresh blood.

"Program-Y...he's been recommissioned..." he rambled.

"Yes, we know," she explained. Then she looked up to Steve. "You need to get him to a hospital or something. I'm going to take a look around with Mr. Stark."

"Please, call me Tony," he offered with a hint of playfulness in his tone. Steve nodded, then took the bleeding scientist in his arms and carried him out of the building. "So, how long have you and Steve known each other?"

"About two hours," Evie responded. searching through Christian's laptop for something. Anything really.

Tony whistled slowly. "I see you're taking it slow, uh?" he teased, making Evie laugh. "So, what do you think of him?"

"He's very nice. My parents sure liked him."

"He already met your parents?" Tony said in surprise.

"Oh, yes. Well, here's the story. I was at a cafe earlier today, and it was windy and I had some of my student's homework sheets in my hands. Then there was a very strong gust of wind that blew some papers from my hands and into the middle of the street, then I rushed out to get them, then I almost got hit by a car, but Steve pulled me out of the road. And then he gave me a ride to my parents' for dinner then I made him stay because he, well, saved my life," Evie explained, barely taking a breath between her words.

"Did you ride the motorcycle?" he asked playfully.

Evie smiled, then answered, "Yes. But I hated it. I don't ever want to ride a motorcycle again in my entire life." He laughed at the woman's explanation, then became quiet while they searched for something. _Anything_. After spending about fifteen minutes on Christian's laptop, he came up clean. "I didn't find anything on his computer. What about you?"

"Not a thing," he replied, dropping the papers he was holding. Out of no where, he then asked, "Did you and Christian have a thing in high school?"

A blush rose to her cheeks. "What? Oh, no. I mean, I did have a crush on him, but I got over it."

Tony pulled up a chair next to the one she was sitting in. "You could have been rich, if you pursued a science career. Why didn't you?"

"You really like snooping around in my life, don't you?" He leaned back in his chair and nodded with a smile. "I love kids," she shrugged.

"Then why not have your own?" he asked, leaning forward now. The man seemed to be more impulsive than her kindergartners.

Evie leaned closer, then whispered, "That's a story for another time. Tony Stark."


	3. Chapter 3

Steve watched the quinjet fly off to the nearest hospital, with Dr. Sanders in the back as he mumbled various things about Program-Y. It was still so hard to process. How could somehow as innocent seeming as Evie make such a destructive creature? He didn't understand.

After standing on the roof for a moment, waiting for the bird to be out of sight, he turned around, and raced back inside. When he came back into the room, he saw Evie and Tony, sitting next to each other and laughing. As Evie laughed, the curls of her hair bobbed along with her body. "That did not happen!" Tony exclaimed, his laughter dying down. Then he looked back up to Steve with a smile. "Evie was telling me how her mom left her at the grocery store for an hour."

Evie looked up at him with her doe-like eyes that were framed by her large glasses. "I was eight, and I hated her for two weeks," she explained, still laughing. Then she slowly stopped and her face grew very deathly. Her brown eyes grew wide with curiosity and worry. "How's Christian?" He could tell that Evie's voice shook a little when she spoke.

"He'll be okay," Steve answered, watching as she began to look more relieved. "We should take you back to SHIELD. They'll need you working on this-"

"But I can't," she interrupted, standing from her seat, and pushing it back to the desk.

Steve and Tony glanced at each other, then looked back at her. "What do you mean you can't?" Tony asked her.

"Well, I have class Monday," she explained simply.

"You can't just call in sick?" Steve asked.

She nodded her head. "I could, but I won't."

"Evie, with Program-Y still out there, it isn't safe for you to be out alone." Steve felt oddly protective of Evie. Maybe it was because she was small and she seemed frail. Or maybe it was because of something else. And Steve was right about his assumptions of safety, for at the moment the window burst open; glass shards flying everywhere. Steve quickly pulled Evie behind him, blocking her from the shards. He looked over to the window and saw an intricate metal robot, standing on the ledge. Evie didn't watch in horror, but she watched in awe. _She made this_. Steve's first instinct was to grab Evie and run, but he knew that Program-Y would follow them. He would have to fight. "You need to run!" he yelled, swinging his shield at the monstrosity. There wasn't even a scratch.

"You can't impenetrate it's body! Tony-"

"On it!" Steve guessed that he was doing something technology based. He figured that the best way to disarm the robot was from the inside. "It's going to take a minute! I need you to keep it busy!" Program-Y looked over to Tony, who was then flung across the run after a large silver hand slammed into his chest. He didn't move from his spot.

"We need to get Tony and run!" Evie yelled. "We can't do anything from the outside of its exo-skeleton!" Evie ducked behind Steve and scurried off to Tony. She probably couldn't tell if he was unconscious or not with his mask on. Steve guessed that he was the latter.

Program-Y turned to Evie, then advanced. Steve quickly cut in, jumping on top of the beast, he tried to pull the head off. He even used his shield as a knife. Nothing worked. Program-Y tossed Steve with ease. Then once again the robot turned to Evie. She wasn't paying attention though; she was too busy on Dr. Sander's computer. What was she doing? "Evie!" She turned right when the monster's hand connected with her side, flinging her across the room like a rag doll. Steve got back up, wincing, but he ran to Evie, putting his shield over her. The robot's fist came down into a slam. He rose it again, but it stopped in mid-rise. _What_? Steve looked over to Tony, who was standing back on his feet once again. Steve figured he did something to turn it off. He's assumptions were correct.

"We have to go. That thing is just temporarily paralyzed," he announced. Steve scooped Evie in his arms. He hadn't truly realized how small she was until now. Steve could feel the steadiness of her breathing. It was relaxing, really.

The three of them raced up to the roof. The quinjet had just returned from the hospital trip and the pilot was oblivious of the events that had taken place. They all flew off as quickly as they came, not a word was mentioned.

* * *

The ride back to the Hellicarrier was silent. No one talked. Tony didn't try to crack jokes, and Evie had eventually woken up and was now sitting sat by herself, probably thinking about Program-Y. From Steve's point of view, Program-Y seemed to be on everyone's mind. But right now, Evie was on his. He was worried about her. In only a matter of one day, he had managed to drag her into this. Her eyes were stuck on a certain spot on the floor.

From the corner of the room, Steve heard a quiet voice speak out. "Why would someone do this? Christian and them, they were good people," she stated, looking down at the ground. "And Program-Y doesn't have a mind of his own. Someone is making him do these things."

"Sometimes, people are just crazy. Or they want power. Whatever it is they want, they're not going to get it," Tony explained to her. "The bad guys never win."

"I guess," she whispered. Steve didn't exactly know how to respond to her. Evie seemed so lost in thought, he didn't know how to get her out. She eventually took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. He didn't know if Evie had a headache or if she was tired. Most likely both. It hadn't even been a full day but she'd gone through so much. It made him want to go over there and just hold her.

The quinjet landed in the hanger, and they all exited quietly. The halls, like usual, were bustling. They always were, and Steve found that a little unnerving. It was always filled with people, no matter the time of day. The three of them arrived in the bridge, where Director Fury, Agent Hill, and Agent Coulson waited for their arrival.

"Well?" The three of them were quiet at first, then Evie spoke first as a medic rushed over to her. It was then that Steve noticed she had a long slash from her eyebrow down to her cheek. It had bled severely. It surprised him that Evie hadn't passed out from the amount of blood loss.

She hesitated for a moment. "It was there. Program-Y. Doctor Sanders was severely injured, but he'll recover well enough." Evie's voice quivered with fear and worry. It made Steve want to just take her home and kept her out of this, but it was too late for that.

Evie hissed at the touch of the nurse. "Hold still," she directed. Evie only flinched away from her. "If you don't let me tend to the cut, it might get infected." Evie then sat still and obeyed her orders.

"Well, then I guess that means you're staying here. Coulson, find Miss Jay a room to-"

"I think, personally," Tony butted in, "that Miss Jay over here would prefer to stay at the tower. She would be much safer with us." Steve didn't know Tony's motives behind it, but there was always a motive with that guy. "What do you say, Evie?"

"That would be nice," she replied with a soft and forced smile. "Not to be rude, Director, but I know them a lot better than I know you." Fury didn't seem offended by all means. Maybe he seemed a little more relieved from where she was housing for the time being.

"Beautiful! You're going to love the tower!" Tony led the way, going on and on about how amazing the tower was. Steve had to admit, that it was impressive, he just wasn't very fond of it. Evie and Steve were trailing behind Tony. He looked at her and noticed something he didn't like: fear. It was all over her; he could practically feel it between them.


	4. Chapter 4

The Avengers Tower was enormous. Everything was well decorated and clean; it was like a fairy tale, in a way. But with more guns hiding behind the walls. Before Evie was taken to the tower, Tony and Steve had brought her back to her apartment to gather some of her things. Steve was the one who lead Evie to her room, well, her temporary room. The room was easily large enough to have an elephant stay in it comfortable. The floor-to-ceiling windows were naked, as the curtains were pulled back.

"How have you been adjusting, Evie?" Steve asked out of no where, startling Evie. Steve seemed completely sincere when he asked.

She shrugged at first, then replied, "It isn't easy. I mean, I guess you know a thing or two about losing people you cared about, but I've only had it happened to me once, and I don't even remember my parents. But these people I knew. They were my only friends as I grew up." Evie sighed, then walked to the windows, drawing the curtains closed easily. "I think I'm going to go to sleep, Steve. I've had a long day," she smiled politely.

He nodded with another smile. "If you need anything, I'm right across the hall," he offered. Evie thanked him, and watched as he left the room, shutting the doors behind him with a soft click. Why was he always so kind to her? Just moments after talking to him, she could be strutting around with a grin when she was wallowing in the corner a few minutes ago.

Evie scavenged through her suit case, finding pajamas, and changing into them. The bed she fell onto was magically comfortable. Evie soon fell into dreams of various things that she would never remember in the morning.

* * *

She woke early in the morning, just like she did every day: starting early, and ending late. Evie trudged out of bed, then showered in her personal bathroom. Tony was right, this place had all the perks. After showering, she changed into a simple pair of jeans and a sweater. Her wet hair dripped onto the shoulders of her rusted colored sweater.

As she walked around the tower barefoot, she stumbled upon a room with so many musical items, that she could barely contain herself. Evie had always had an interest in music. It wasn't a possible career choice, that was for sure, but it soothed her. Evie looked down the halls before entering the room, not wanting anyone to see her. Evie didn't want people barging in and listening to her. She could never play with them watching over her.

Her large, brown eyes grazed over the piano, then the violin, but chose a cello instead. It was beautifully crafted, and perfectly tuned, so, she decided to play it. Evie picked up the bow, then began to smoothly swipe it across the strings. The sounds of it enticed her. She closed her eyes as she played, only focusing on the cello and the small grooves she felt in the strings.

"You're very talented," a voice appraised, startling Evie and causing her to drop the bow. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you or anything," they apologized. The voice belonged to a man with messy brown locks. His purple button shirt was pulled out the waist of his pants in various places. The sleeves of his shirt was rolled up, as if he had been working on something.

"No, no. It's fine. How much did you hear of that?" Evie asked, her heart beating faster than it should.

He shrugged. "Quite a bit."

"Oh, my. I'm sorry. I just...I just get very nervous when people hear me play, because what if I make a mistake. Or what if they don't think I'm good, you know? There's a lot of pressure on me when that happens," she laughed lightly. Her heart slowly going back to its regular beat. "May I ask who are you?" she asked, not recognizing him in the slightest way.

"I'm Dr. Bruce Banner. But you can call me Bruce," he replied. Evie was going to tell him who she was, then he interrupted, "I already know who you are, Evangeline."

She cringed at the sound of her longer name. "Oh, please don't call me Evangeline. Call me Evie or something."

"Fair enough," he replied. Then he looked back down at the cello she was playing. "How long have you been playing for?"

She looked off to the side, trying to remember when she first started. "Since I was, oh, fourteen?" she guessed.

Bruce looked a little shocked, but impressed, at how young she started. But most others started younger. "You're very talented. I can tell you that," Bruce restated. He was about to leave, when he turned around and said, "Breakfast is about to start. You can join if you like."

She smiled, then spoke, "Thanks." Evie didn't leave when he did. She sat in the music room for a minute or two worried about how the rest of the people who lived here would treat her. Evie had always been very nervous when meeting people that she would know for a while. She just wanted people to like her, but she would usually mess up something when they first met. It was like second nature to her.

Evie eventually put the cello back on its stand, and left the music room, walking in the same direction Bruce did. The dining table was completely empty, and so was the kitchen. She looked over to the left, and saw everyone sitting on the couch. There were two people that she didn't recognize, but knew they were from SHIELD, as they wore their uniforms proudly.

Feeling nervous, Evie tried to sneak away quietly, but someone heard the soft clack of her feet. It was the only girl in the group of guys. She had short red curls that hung to her chin. Her greens eyes sparkled with a smile. "So, this is her, uh? I pictured you more...deadlier looking?" she laughed. "Well, are you gonna sit down or what?" she asked, noticing that Evie stood in the doorway for longer than was needed. Hesitantly, she sat down between Steve and Bruce. Instead of focusing on the television, they all focused on Evie. "I'm Natasha, and that's Clint." She pointed to a man with close cropped, sandy hair and light blue eyes, who grinned casually. He looked like a grown man, but seemed to have the heart of a child.

"We were watching a James Bond movie. Wanna join?" Clint asked, pointing to the extremely large flat screen television. Evie was appalled by how large it was.

"Sure. I'd love to," she replied with a large smile. As the lot of them sat at the leather sectional, Evie started to feel more comfortable around the group. The last time she'd had that feeling of belonging, was when she meet Christian, Wyatt, and Elizabeth. They made her feel welcome, and she was thankful. When she looked over to Steve, he was already looked at her. The two exchanged a kind smile. She turned back to the television with butterflies in her stomach.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve could sometimes hear the faint sound of Evie's cello ring through the walls. She continued to go to work for the past couple of weeks, but nothing had happened after the incident at Dr. Sanders's apartment. It was eerily calm. Steve would know as he watched over the school from the roof of a building across the street. He liked watching how well Evie got along with children, which made him wonder why she didn't have any of her own. Steve always wanted to ask, but he just didn't know how or when.

Whenever Steve left the gym, he'd find Evie sitting at the dining table, covering the surface with papers. He figured they were all just homework her students turned in to her. He noticed how she'd put stickers on every paper with a smile on her face. She really did love her job.

One day, Steve sat down next to her, then took a sheet of paper and tried to decipher the scribbled words. "I can't read any of these words. It's amazing that anyone can," he laughed, and so did she.

"I know. But one of my students, Collin, has had a spectacular turnaround with his writing. As well as his behavior. In the beginning of the school year, he was on red everyday, and now he barely gets on yellow," she announced proudly, with a proud smile pulling at her cheeks, which were sprinkled with a heavy amount of freckles.

"It's only because he has a fantastic teacher," Steve observed. Evie blushed at the compliment she received, and easily dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "It's true. I've seen you work with those kids, Evie. They love you." She shrugged, sorting the papers together into a neat pile, then putting them away in a folder. Evie pretended like it wasn't a big deal, but Steve found it amazing. She didn't have to wear a costume or anything for kids to instantly love her presence.

"Kids adore you, too, Steve," Evie replied as she gathered the sheets up and took them back to her room, which was probably the cleanest room in the house. Everything in her room was perfectly organized. She didn't have very many things, but still.

"They only do because of who the see me as. A man in a mask."

Evie turned to him, then answered, "And who _is _the man in the mask, Steve? Because it sure as heck isn't me!" Evie threw her hands in the air with a laugh. "You have to give yourself more credit. The things Captain America does comes from the mind of Steve Rogers."

"When did you learn to give such great advice?"

"Well, I had to learn how to give advice to myself. Like I said, I really didn't have anyone I could go to with problems. I just had myself, you know?" Evie shook away the conversation with a shrug of her shoulder, as she tossed the papers next to another pile on the floor.

"Why do you do that? You never talk about anything that has to do with yourself," Steve observed. Evie looked at him in shock, and was about to dispute with him, but then he continued, "And don't tell me you don't, because I know you do."

She sighed, then sat on the edge of her bed. Steve joined her. "I just don't like talking about myself. I guess it's because I've never really found someone I can trust with stuff. Plus, I wouldn't even know what to say," she answered.

"You do now," Steve smiled. "So, come on. Talk me to. Start with your childhood." Evie sighed and smiled, then began. She talked about how she used to grip onto her papa's leg and he would walk around normally with her like that. Evie explained how her grandma would make peanut butter toast cut into squares, then they would watch cartoons. It was pretty much the only thing she'd eat in the morning. Gwen made chocolate chip pancakes? Evie would cry for an hour while eating the pancakes.

Then she went into how in middle school, she decided she'd join a club. So, she tried diving, but she was too afraid of the high dive. Evie didn't play anymore sports after that. She was great with computers though, so, she joined computer club. For two years, Evie was on the academic decathlon team. Steve laughed when she seem so embarrassed about it. Then she said how in her freshman year, she came to school with seven friends, but they all joined clubs and sports teams. When Evie explained that, she laughed at herself, being reminded about how uncomfortable she was in high school.

Evie told Steve how she looked, and felt, like a dork. She had thick glasses, that weren't fitted to her head correctly, so they always fell off. Evie explained how her hair was always a mess. She could barely understand how she survived high school.

Steve noticed that she completely skipped the year she designed Program-Y. He figured it took her that long to recruit people. Or it took her that long to complete Program-Y. She went instantly to senior year, when she turned out a lot better looking. Her hair was styled to the time, her acne had finally cleared out. Evie finally got her braces taken off the previous year. She was still awkward, but when she walked by in the halls, people actually noticed her.

She didn't go on to her college years, explaining how those were the years filled with studying and tests. And that was about all she did. At the end of her life story, she grinned. "Thank you. This was really nice, Steve," Evie thanked.

"Anytime," he smiled. Steve wanted so badly to just lean in a little bit more... "Well, I, uh, I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Steve awkwardly left without another word. After he shut the door behind him, he instantly regretted it. He missed his opportunity, which made him wonder, was there ever going to be a second?

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**I never do this. It's really rare when I leave an A.N., but I'm here to let you know, that this won't be like, a twenty chapter thing. I don't think it'll be extremely long, but I'm also not sure when it will end. But it definitely won't be a very long one. I don't know if you guys like it that much or what. Not sure. But I've never been good at completing stories, so I'm trying to so hard to finish this one. And I think I will :) **

**Wish me luck! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Callieandjack : thank you! I know. I think Steve and Evie are pretty adorable too! **

**Sandy-wmd : Thanks for the luck! :)**

**A/N : I'm really happy to see people following, reading, and reviewing my stories. I'm glad some of you like it. I've always been really embarrassed about showing friends and family members my stories in fear that they'll judge or something. But I like these websites. I don't know why, but I just feel more comfortable here than out there. So thanks :)**

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The morning sun glittered into the room through a small crack between the curtains. Evie stood up from the mess of sheets that entangled her. Evie realized that she wasn't the first to be awake; she could hear the sound of someone hitting something. Her room was only a couple doors from the gym, so, she decided to head down there, and see what was going on. Upon her entrance of the gym, she saw Tony beating a punching bag relentlessly. He didn't realize Evie was there, until she was right next to him.

"Oh, hey. You're up early," Tony observed. He knew that she was always up early. She usually was the first to be up early.

"Did you even sleep?" asked Evie with a raise of her eyebrow.

Tony shrugged in response. "Hey, you never answered my question?"

"And you never answered mine. We'll take turns," Evie explained with a cross of her arms. She sat on the edge of the ring, then Tony took a seat next to her. "You can go first."

Tony sighed then answered, "No. I didn't go to sleep. I just...I don't know. I just couldn't. I promise." Evie believed him. She believed just about anything she was told. "Your turn."

"Well," she sighed, hesitant if she should tell him. Evie had never told anyone before; just her grandparents. This was a big secret. But, she could trust most of these people. "To answer your question about why I don't have my own kids, it's simple really. And, you've probably already come up with a few reasons, but there's only one: I can't have them..." her voice trailed off quietly. Evie's eyes fixed to the floor, her fingers knotted together. "I can't have them," she whispered so quietly that she wasn't sure if he heard her.

"Oh," he whispered.

She nodded, then said, "Yeah. I know." The two of them sat in a long moment of silence, just sitting together and not saying a word. "I should get ready for school," Evie finally said uncomfortably. She stood up from the ring, leaving a speechless Tony alone to think about her answer. He probably didn't want that answer. He could have thought that maybe she just didn't have time, or something, but Evie knew Tony had that about that possibility.

Her day had officially become rotten. Evie went back into her bathroom in a sluggish walk. She showered, and changed into proper school wear. Which she acknowledged as flats and whatever else suited her. Soon after a couple of months teaching, Evie realized she could never wear heels to work again. Ever. And keeping that in mind, she changed into a mint green dress with a round white collar and teal-ish colored flats.

Evie ran to the fridge, where she pulled out two tubs of vanilla ice cream. "Okay! Let's go!" she yelled out to Steve and Tony excitedly. She was so glad that she knew how to put on a front. The two of them had insisted of going to school with her. Well, they didn't go inside the building during school hours, but they watched over her from a building across the street. They were very cautious and protective. Tony was the first to come out. He wasn't wearing his armor, but instead he carried an odd looking briefcase. She didn't ask what it was. Evie could still feel the tension between them as they avoided each other's gaze. "Steve!"

"Coming!" he replied, turning the corner and running down the hall. "Sorry," he apologized.

Evie snatched her coat and purse on the way out of the elevator. "We can't be late! It's the last day of school and the kids are going to have the most fun day ever!" Evie began to ramble on about they would go outside on the playground, then come back inside for ice cream. She had the whole thing planned out. They pulled up next to a building a block away from the small little school. It was two floors, and in the shape of a U. In the middle was a very large and well-built playground. The school was kindergarten through six grade, so it had no need to a towering building. "Okay, I'll see you guys after school!" She waved goodbye then trudged off to the school. Evie went straight to the office, to check if she had received any mail.

It was only seven and school didn't start until eight-forty-five, so she had some time on her hands to check through her agenda and get everything set up. She quickly glanced out the window to see Tony and Steve sitting on the rooftop. Evie wondered if Tony was thinking about their conversation this morning. He had seemed awfully quiet in the car. Evie hoped Steve didn't noticed that anything was off. She knew keeping secrets was wrong, but what if she told him and then he thought differently about her? She didn't want that. Not ever.

* * *

Tony seemed less jittery and annoying today, which was something he didn't mind, but it made him think something was wrong. Steve couldn't tell how he was feeling with that mask over his head, but it didn't make him stop wondering what he was thinking about. "Tony?" Tony made a small nose that acknowledged Steve. "Is everything okay?"

Tony's mask flipped up, showing a distant expression. He nodded silently.

Something was up. Steve wasn't great at anything that had to do with the 21st century, but he knew when something was wrong with someone, and that was the same look Evie had had in the car. What was with those two? Steve knew they were keeping something from him, he just didn't know what. Not yet anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

Cleaning around the room and setting things up was hard enough without being distracted. Every moment she spent not doing what she should have been, she was thinking about what might happen today. It was a cruel cycle that had been happening continuously since the incident at Christian's apartment. Speaking of who, she'd checked in on his progress a few times since the accident. Steve had taken her every time, insisting that he wasn't going to leave her alone. Not again. Not that she minded, or anything. Who didn't want someone being adorably protective of them? Especially someone as nice as Steve was.

Now she was really getting distracted.

Glancing at the clock, Evie realized she had fifteen minutes before the kids would start piling into the hallways and scurrying their way to their classes. She needed to kick it in gear. Running around the room, she set up the balloons she had stored in the supply closet. She left goodie-bags on the kids' desks. The ice cream was patiently waiting in the freezer in the teachers' lounge. Everything was going smoothly so far.

Soon enough, the bell rung and she heard the pitter-patter of sneakers. Evie always loved to see their faces when they walked through the door and saw the games waiting and the balloons strung onto the back of their chairs. They would trade the gifts inside the bags for ones they thought were better. And all of those things brought a beaming smile to Evie's face.

The first one to pile in was Collin Quinn. He was small and had the wildest, curliest, hair in all of the world. That's what she thought at least. "Happy last day!" she announced as more flowed into the room. Their grins expanded at the sights of the streamers that hung from corner to corner. That was exactly the reaction she wanted. The one she needed to replace the thoughts of her crappy morning.

They took their seats, admiring the handiwork of their first real teacher. Evie could tell that they were impressed. As the announcements turned on, they recited the Pledge, then took their seats quietly, listening to the rest of it. After they turned off, a golden hair girl, Rosie, raised her hand with a smile. "Yes, Rosie?"

"What are we doing today?" she asked, obviously excited. Evie would be too if it was the last day of their first official school year. The others perked up with questions themselves, but it started to get loud, and that wasn't a good thing. Evie and her students and a thing where she would lower her hands, which was a sign for them to lower their voices. They thought it was fun, and it worked everytime. So, that's what she did.

The room finally quieted down. "Today will be full of fun things to do! The first thing we'll do is arts and crafts. You can play with play-doh, color with markers, anything along those lines! Understand?" They nodded their heads in understanding. "Off you go!" They ran out of their seats, scrambling to the markers or play-doh. Evie walked around the room and watched as they drew things or make things with the play-doh. Looking around, she asked herself why things couldn't be this simple all the time? Why did the adult world have to be so complicated?

* * *

Steve watched from the exact same spot; he hadn't move off the ledge of that building once. Tony had, though. He said he was going to get something to eat then left without another word. Looking down to the school, he saw a person pop out of a door; it was Evie. She waved him over, then went back inside to the protection of the air conditioning.

Complying to her wave, Steve left the short building, then ran across the street and snuck over to the door. It was unlocked as he turned the knob. He went inside to see the room filled with balloons and streamers. The only person in the room was Evie, who had two sandwiches sitting at her desk. She threw one to him.

"Take a seat," she said with a smile. He did so. Steve took a seat in the front row. The nametag on the desk read 'Mary.' He wondered what Mary looked like. "I figured that after Stark left you, you must have been lonely or something. I took the precautions of packing another sandwich, just in case." Her smile was small and caring; he loved that smile. But lately, he had been seeing less and less of it.

"I know everything is kind of weird and scary and you've got to be feeling the pressure by now, but nothing else is going to happen to you. Not while I'm around," Steve consoled as he unwrapped the sandwich. She smiled slightly, just looking at her food for a minute. "I mean it."

"I know you do, Steve, but there are so many options out there that no one really knows what's going to happen." Her voice sounded heavy with wisdom and fear. He hated seeing her like there. Steve had noticed how when she heard even the smallest of sounds, her eyes would dart into the direction in fear. Or how jumpy she became and restless. Usually, Steve was the one who couldn't sleep, but he'd soon heard the pitter patter of feet at night. He knew Evie was plagued with nightmares. She used to live a normal life, but now Evie was pulled into a crazy world that didn't make sense.

"The room looks great, Evie. You did this by yourself?" Steve asked, feeling the previous topic becoming too heavy. Her mood seemed to brighten instantly. That was another thing he loved about her: she never dwelled on the past for very long. She nodded, looking around in pride. But her smile and sense of comfort turned to the exact opposite, when a shine of silver walked by the large window.


	8. Chapter 8

The silver gleam stalked right past the window, and straight for the door. The knob twisted, then the door flew open. Instead of Program-Y standing in the doorway, it was a man. His dark hair was slicked back from his head. His beady black eyes gazed around the room, and rested on Evie. He smiled terribly at the sight of her fear. Evie looked behind him to see Program-Y standing obediently. Even if it was a destructive robot, he was a beautiful creation. When she was in high school, she could only dream of something this beautiful.

"Evie, get out of here," the soldier commanded. Instead of turning and running like she wanted, she watched in fear and awe. "Evie!" Steve's anger startled her; Evie could only stare at him. Then she realized, he wasn't angry at her, but he was worried. She could see it in his eyes as they wandered over the robot and the terrifying man.

"Hello, Evangeline. Beautiful day out isn't?" As he took a step forward, Evie took a step back and Steve took a step between them. "Please, Evangeline, tell your soldier to step down. I would only like to talk with you," he informed, still staring at her. Evie felt uncomfortable under his stare. Her stomach churned around nervously.

Snapping out of her daze, Evie replied. "If you only wanted to talk, why'd you bring _my _robot?" He stood there with the same smile plastered on his lips, then they opened. "And don't tell me because of precautions. Don't tell me because you feared the Avengers _might _be here. You _knew _they'd be here, and you wanted the conflict. You came here for something. So what is it?" Evie's fear turned to confidence. It was her time to step forward.

His eyebrows turned up in surprise. "You're much more than computer smarts, aren't you? Yes, I am here for something, Evangeline."

"Well, whatever the hell it is, you can't have it," Steve spat, his voice filled with poison. His eyes were shooting knives at the man. When Steve opened his mouth to say something, the classroom door jutted open. In the doorway stood a class of kindergarteners and one of the lunch ladies. The woman, Heidi, stood there, staring back and forth between Steve and the six foot, five inches robot.

"Is that Captain America!" one of the kids yelled in excitement. They began to pour into the room in a flood. Evie ran over and ushered them outside, shutting and locking the door after them. She heard Heidi yell something inaudible. Her screams and yells filled the halls. Evie's heart raced at the thought of something ever happening to those small, defenseless children. Then she realized that she was just as defenseless as they were.

"I see your class as returned from lunch. What would you do for those kids, Evangeline?" His English accent filled the room. "How far would you go to protect, not just them, but your soldier?" She looked to Steve, who shook his head slowly. His eyes were full of pain. "You know that not even he can stand up against Program-Y, so why put him and everyone in this school in danger?"

Steve must have noticed the realization in her eyes. "Don't you dare," he demanded. Steve's voice was steady, but his eyes were locked on her with a sadness. "We can defeat him. Don't lose hope, Evie."

"Evangeline, there is no other way." The stranger's voice with filled with false innocence and sadness. Why did he want her to give up so badly? She realized he wanted to take her with him, but to where? And why?

A blue beam shot out to the stranger, knocking him into the wall. "There's always a way," a new, but familiar, voice rang out in retaliation. It was Tony. His idea must have been good in retrospect, but he must not have calculated the large chance of Program-Y advancing on him, which he did. As the six foot robot clasped its hand onto Tony's armor, it bent under the pressure. Steve raced over to them, shield ready and held high.

Looking over to the stranger, Evie saw him brush off his polished suit, then strut over to her. Before he reached, her she raced outside the door. The halls were completely empty. There was no one in sight. They must have all ran off outside; the protocol for a school break in.

Evie raced down the hall. She didn't know where she was going; the fear had a hold on her reactions. "Evangeline, running won't do you any good." And he was right, she realized. Evie had tried to open so many doors, but none of them opened. "Just come with me. I won't hurt you, if that's what you're afraid of." Now Evie was standing in a corner with the stranger blocking any way for her to run. From where she was at in the school, she could barely hear the sounds of fighting and yells.

"Hurt me?" her voice turned angry in a millisecond. "Hurt me! You're hurting me right now by attacking them!"

"Then what will you do, my dearest?" Having him call her by a pet name sent chills through her body. Evie tried her best to rub away the goosebumps. When she didn't answer, he continued, "If you agree to come with me, I will call off Program-Y. Do we have a deal?"

Evie though about the chances of Tony and Steve actually _winning _this fight, and it was incredibly slim. She couldn't let them die. Evie knew what she had to do. But the questions that lingered in her mind were holding her back. Would she ever see them again? Would they get her back? Why did this stranger want her to come with him so badly? So many questions, so little time.

"Their time is dwindling, my dearest. What is your answer?" he asked, with a knowing look. Mr. Stranger knew exactly what her choice would be. Any loyal person would choose the same thing as she would. Evie nodded lightly, not being able to meet his eyes. "Well, then we must get going, shouldn't we?" He held out his arm for her, which she knocked away with anger. Unexpectedly, his feigned kindness turned into a controlling anger. "Don't you ever do that to me again? Understand?" She nodded, taking his arm. "That's my girl."

Evie shivered under his words, and even worse at his touch. When the two of them reached the classroom, she gasped at what she saw. The room had been destroyed. The glass window was shattered, desks and chairs were broken or knocked over. And the worst sight she could see was the sight of her two friends laying on the ground. She couldn't see how bad Tony was, but the damage to his armor was severe. But, Evie could see how bad Steve was. His suit was torn and bloodied. His face was just as bloody.

She ran over to him and rolled him onto his back. He was awake. "Evie? Where is that guy?" Steve was still so determined to beat the hell out of someone, even though that had already happened to him.

The guilt overcame her. Evie couldn't tell Steve the truth. "I-I think he left or something. He's not here," she lied through tears. It took so much effort for her not to start sobbing. "I already contacted Fury, he should be here soon with a medical team or something. Everything's going to be okay." _I hope it'll_ _be_, she thought to herself. "I'm going to go check on the kids. I'll be back okay?"

"Yeah. Stay safe, okay?" She nodded, not knowing if he could see her or not. His breathing finally steadied to a slow beat. Evie assumed that he had passed out.

Evie jumped at the touch of a firm hand. She looked up and saw the stranger standing above him. "Give me a minute, okay?" He nodded, then stepped back. Evie stood up and went behind her desk. Unlocking a drawer, she dug her phone from her purse and dialed Fury.

"Fury," he announced.

"It's Evie. There was a break-in from Program-Y at the school. Send down a medic team and a few agents." With that, she hung up. Evie let her phone drop to the ground as she went to go stand by the stranger.

With one last look behind her, Evie whispered so lightly, she almost didn't hear it, "I'm so sorry."


	9. Chapter 9

**To all the followers of this story and reviewers, I really appreciate it because it makes me think that you all like my stories and it always makes my day 10000000x better! So thank you! **

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As Steve begins to come back to the conscious world, he hears familiar voices. "What do you think he's going to say when he wakes up and we tell him?" a one voice asks. He identified it as Bruce.

A sigh came from the someone else. "I don't know. But it won't be good, I know that." Tony. He sounded worried and strained. Steve sat up from the cold metal table and looked at the two of them. Their attention directed to Steve instantly. Their eyes were wide with fear and worry, yet they couldn't meet Steve's eyes. Both of them looked like they hadn't gained a lick of sleep in a while. Steve wondered why. "Good to finally see you awake, Cap."

"Good to be awake, I guess. How long was I out for?" he asked, jumping off the table and walking over to the two scientists and friends.

Bruce fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, then turned away. "Not long. Couple hours, at least," said Bruce, his mind wandering to other places. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. What about Evie? Is she okay?" Tony and Bruce exchanged a look that Steve couldn't read. It must have been something that only the knew of them knew. "What?" Neither answered him for the longest time.

The silence told him something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. "Steve-" He didn't get to hear the rest of what Bruce had to say because he jogged out of the lab and to the elevators, waiting impatiently to get to the floor where some of the guest rooms were. Thoughts scattered his head as he ran through the halls. Wouldn't Evie have been there to check on him? Or was he wrong about how she felt about him? She cared, right?

Maybe that wasn't the problem. Maybe the problem was that she wasn't here. But if she wasn't here, where else could she be? He had talked to her at the school just before he blacked out again. He knew she was safe. Evie was safe, right? But if she was safe, she'd be here at Stark Tower.

When he reached her room, it was empty. Everything that she had brought with her was still in its same place where she had left it. There was no sign that she had been here. Where was she?

"Steve?" He whirled around to see Natasha standing behind him with a sorrowful and pitiful look. He'd never seen the spy show so much emotion before. "They told you, huh?"

"Told me about what?" Steve's voice was filled with anger. He wanted to know where she was.

Steve could tell Natasha was taken aback by his question; her expression showed it all. But she quickly recomposed herself. "I don't know how to say it, Steve. But Evie...she's been _taken_." Her voice wavered just enough for him to catch it, but that didn't stop him from becoming furious.

"Taken? What the hell do you mean by _taken_?" His anger rose to furiosity. Steve could feel his already hot face becoming hotter with the aggression. Evie couldn't have been taken. She had told him that she was safe. But why was she trying not to cry? Someone who was safe shouldn't have been crying or scared like she was. "She lied to me..." Steve looked at Natasha, who looked confused, but she didn't press on. She knew not to. Not now. Without a word, Natasha walked away.

At that moment, Steve's heart began to ache incredibly. He turned to her room and stared at the emptiness. Before, her room mainly consisted of school papers, but now that she had finished school, it was empty. Save for her clothes and a few other personal items.

Right at that moment, Steve wanted to break something and scream. But instead of releasing his anger in a violent manner, he led it into a more helpful direction. Steve's bared feet slammed down the hall and back to the elevator. When he got back down to Stark's lab, Bruce and Tony threw him questioning looks. Steve nodded in reply.

Bruce's lips moved as if he was going to say something, but he never did. "Did you find anything that could find her?" The two of them stayed silent, then shook their heads with a look of disdain. "Well, what _are _you doing to find her?"

"We'll we're hoping that she still has her card with her, so, we're trying to find that. But, so far, it seems that she doesn't have it with her. We're working on different theories that could be the most likely ways of finding Evie," Bruce explained with a sorrowful expression. "We're doing everything we can to find her, Steve. Really."

There was a nagging voice that commented, "_Try harder._" But Steve didn't say what he was thinking; he nodded and left the room, more angry from when he first entered the room. Nothing was going right for him today.

It was then that Steve accepted the feelings that had been welling up inside him. He realized that Evie's smile made his stomach turn and twist around in ways that it shouldn't. He realized that he unconsciously would just look at her. He'd look at her dark, wild curls that barely fell to her shoulders. Steve remembered how her creamy brown eyes looked as they work surrounded with naturally dark lashes. Everything about her made him go a little crazy inside.

Steve promised himself that he would get Evie out of this.


	10. Chapter 10

**To Callieandjack: You're right. The guy really is going to get it! **

* * *

She had no idea where she was, or what the time was. All Evie knew, was that Sebastian Rose had taken her away for one reason she knew of: to upgrade Program-Y, and then make _more_. Evie didn't have a clue to what he was going to use it for, but she could only guess that he wanted world domination. It sounds cliche, yes, but that was her best bet.

Sebastian put Evie on edge at all times. It was hard being in the same place with a man who had a bipolar and demanding attitude. One minute he was charming, the next he was screaming and hitting her if she gave him one word of sass. It was no wonder he was alone.

Evie was stalling big time on the Program-Y updates. She knew the Avengers would come for her eventually, but she didn't know when or how long.

In the time span she had been locked up like Rapunzel, Evie hadn't slept a wink. She was afraid to with Sebastian crawling around at all hours. She didn't know what he would do to her. And whenever she went in the bathroom and saw the purple bags under her eyes and the purple palm marks all over her, she flinched. The marks eventually went away after she learned not to speak back, but it was a sight Evie had never seen before. This kind of physical torture was something she wished upon no one. She'd never been tortured before, but Evie believed that was how it felt.

"Oh, Evangeline," Sebastian called in a sing-song voice as he entered the lab. Evie lifted her head from the robot's opened shell, and looked at his amused expression. "I have a little surprise for you, my dear." She didn't say a word, she just waited from him to do whatever it was he wanted to do. "I bet you miss your friend's dearly, right? Well, here's your chance to see them one last time." A breath caught in her throat and Evie rose from the stool she had been sitting at.

A large TV arose from the floor, then with the press of a button, a picture came on. It was Tony and Bruce in Tony's lab, working away on something. "Hello, gentlemen," Sebastian said to gain attention. The two scientists' heads snapped up. Evie knew Tony had recognized whose voice that was, and he didn't like the sound of it by the expression he gave. "I see you're working very intently and I apologize for dragging you away from it, but I would just like to speak with you."

"Where's Evie?" Tony asked before Sebastian could get in another word. Tony's voice hugged around her mind. It made her feel happy to know how much they all cared about her. "I swear to God if you hurt her-"

"She's fine, Mr. Stark. I'll even show you how well she is." Sebastian waved his waved to Evie, who stood frozen in the corner of the room. She knew that if she didn't go to him, that he would hit her again. She couldn't take one more hit. So Evie did as she was told. Standing next to him, he wrapped a cold arm around her waist; as if showing that he owned her. "See. She's fine. Aren't you?" With a sickly smile, he brushed away a curl. When she didn't answer, his voice grew sharper and his grasp tightened. "Aren't you?" She nodded instantly.

"Who is that?" a bodiless voice asked, which Evie easily identified it as Steve. Evie tried her best to release herself from Sebastian's grasp, but he only continued to hold on tighter to the point where she could feel a bruise forming. Then, the face of Steve Rogers came on the screen. First he showed a look of relief. Then he became angry at the sight of her face contorted into pain. "Let go of her! You're hurting her." His voice was stern and steady, but completely angry.

Sebastian laughed at Steve's displeasure. "She's perfectly well, Captain. I would never cause harm to such a beautiful and intelligent woman. She's been very useful to me," he purred as he pulled her into him closer. Sebastian pulled her in further and closer to his lips. Instead of letting them collide, she did what almost any girl would do: kick him where it kills.

And when she did, he threw her to the ground as he howled in pain. Evie knew he would furious over that, but she wasn't about to let something that horrid happen, especially after everything she'd be through.

In seconds, the familiar searing pain covered her cheek. Evie was sure that the three friends could not see her, which was something she was grateful for. When the tears fell from her eyes, things finally became more clear. Sebastian was fixing his hair and pulling down the jacket of his suit. Evie could only imagine the Avenger's expressions. "Well, gentlemen, I just wanted to call and let you know that you won't succeed in finding your friend, and you won't succeed in saving the world. You will fall underneath my forces."

The other end of the call was silent.

"I must be off then." Sebastian turned to her. "My dear, would you please continue with your work. I will give you only this last opportunity to say goodbye to your friends. Make it quick." With that, he left. Evie scrambled to her feet and raced to the TV where Tony, Bruce, and Steve stood in awe. She knew they were going to ask her a thousand questions on if she was okay, but that wasn't the top priority.

"Listen to me. I don't have much time but I need you to keep and eye out for a signal that I'll be sending. I believe we're still in the states; we took a car to get here. It took us about three hours to get here by car." Every so often, Evie took a quick glance to the door to make sure he wasn't there, and when he wasn't, she laughed. "That guy was an idiot to leave me alone with you guys for even a minute." _Maybe that's what he wanted? _she thought to herself. Then she realized that he didn't want her saying any of this; Sebastian was just showing off what he had. But he didn't realize that the thing he currently held, was the thing that would bring him down.

Evie was going to turn it off, when a voice distracted her from it. "We're going to get you back, okay?" When she looked up, Steve's eyes were filled with pain and sorrow; she knew he was blaming himself for this.

"Yeah, I know, Steve. I didn't doubt you guys for a minute." The two shared a knowing smile. "I better go before he comes back. I'll get right to work on that signal transmitter. See you soon," she said with a mischievous smile, then cut of the connection.


	11. Chapter 11

Steve sat on the couch uncomfortably for Tony or Bruce to rush up to him to tell him that the transmitter worked and they found her. Even though it had only been ten minutes, Steve's nerves were still on high alert. Every time he heard one little noise, Steve would stand up straight and look around the room. It was an annoying instinct for him.

Finally, after what felt like days of waiting, Bruce ran upstairs to tell him that they had found her and that the transmitter worked. She was somewhere in Pennsylvania. With that said, a bundle of of happiness overcame the anger and guilt that had just recently washed over him.

The two of them rushed out of the room and to the roof, where a SHIELD jet awaited for them. Obviously, SHIELD either needed or wanted Evie back. Steve's bet was that they needed her back. She was a genius and SHIELD always liked geniuses.

In the plane, Tony, Natasha, and Clint debriefed him on their observances of where she was. Apparently, they didn't know much. "From the satellites, I can tell that she's well underground. Where the beacon led us to was just an empty field. So, she's obviously underground," said Tony, who realized Steve was going to interject but he continued on. "We found the only entrance and only exit that we know of. This is _not _a covert mission. If we have to, lets raise a little hell. We're getting Sunshine back at all costs." Steve couldn't disagree with this, but he could with something else.

"Wait, did you call her Sunshine?" Steve asked.

Tony shrugged. "Seems to fit her personality. The whole bubbly and happy thing, you know?" He did know. Steve knew all too well about Evie's personality. Thinking on it, the nickname did seem to fit. Every time she smiled, the room seemed to grow brighter with it. That's mainly why he loved to try and make her happy, although he rarely ever did.

The ride seemed to drag on for what seemed like years, and the closer they got to Pennsylvania, the lighter the atmosphere felt. He would finally get her back at all costs, he realized. There wasn't a thing he wouldn't do to get her back safe and sound.

* * *

Evie had sent the signal hours ago, so they should have been here by now. Maybe the signal didn't work? It had shorted out ten minutes after she had built it.

But her suspicions were quickly thrown aside in a matter of moments when Sebastian rushed into the room with a frantic look on his face. He rushed over to Evie and grabbed her arm. When they left the room five guards rushed in, gathering the equipment and taking it to a stand-by helicopter probably.

"Where are we going?" asked Evie, who was dragged along the halls helplessly. Secretly, she loved the worried look on Sebastian's face, but if he knew that, he'd become furious with her. His anger was something she didn't want to test. Not now, at least.

When he turned around a corner, he stopped abruptly and held onto Evie tightly. "We've been found, my dear. So we're moving to another facility."

Evie feigned to be worried. "When will they get here? How long do we have to escape?" She knew that his ignorance would be overtaken at this moment; at the moment where he might lose everything he had worked so hard for. It was an egotistical thing that people did.

"We have only two minutes until they arrive, so we have to move quickly."

He looked around the halls nervously. "Yeah, we do," she said quickly and quietly. In an instant, without thinking, she lifted her knee to his gut. When he bent over in pain, she brought her knee up again, but this time to his face. Evie quickly rushed off down the hall, hoping it would lead her to the outside world once more.

Evie could hear Sebastian's pained cries and yells. "_Guest 1 has escaped. Guest 1 has escaped,_" the monotone voice of the computer system blared throughout the halls. It called her a guest, but she really didn't feel like one.

The halls were a maze to her. Evie had almost no idea where she was going; she only knew to run away from the sound of people. "_Perimeter and interior has been breached,_" the computer explained, which made Evie giddy with glee. Who else could it be but the Avengers? SHIELD maybe, but she highly doubted they would save someone as unimportant as her.

She stopped dead in her tracks. Now this was the tricky part: find them. She didn't know where to look first. So, instead of running away from the sounds of running footsteps, she ran towards them. It could lead her to them. They obviously weren't covert or else they wouldn't have set off the alarms. Especially if Natasha and Clint were here.

"Find that girl!" the all too familiar voice of Sebastian yelled in the halls. Obviously, she was running the wrong way. Turning around another few set of corners, she ran into a hard, cold body. Looking up from the ground and to the hulking thing, it was Iron Man.

"You miss me?" asked Tony as the mask of his armor flipped up to reveal a smile.

Evie jumped up from the ground and wrapped her arms around the cool exterior. "Tony!" She could feel the armored arms hug her back with a laugh. "Took you guys long enough to get here," she said, unwrapping her arms from him.

"It's your fault that the transmitter shorted out in ten minutes," said Tony with a playful smirk. Evie was about to reply with an equally impressive comment, but she was rudely interrupted by the sound of guns and shouts. "That's our cue."

"Our cue to what?"

Tony turned to her as the face mask slid into place. "To get you out of here."

"What about the others?" she asked as she trailed after his long strides.

Turning another corner he said, "They can take care of themselves. The plan was the use them as a distraction and for me to come get you, then take you back to the quinjet. They would get out and we'd fly away into the sunset. It's spotless." Evie did have to admit that it was a very well thought out plan, she was just worried it wouldn't work. She knew that things didn't always work out the way you'd want them too. "You know, Cap was the most worried about you. And, uh, I don't think he's going to go easy on Sebastian when he sees how you look." The bruises. They were still covering her arms and face.

"I suppose he won't, will he?" Tony shook his head quickly. There was another shot that rang out. Nothing obviously needed to be said between the two; they both took off running. Evie followed Tony, since he knew this place better than she did. She at least hoped he did. But that didn't matter to her exactly; she was safe and that's all she needed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Callieandjack : Nah, nothing bad is going to happen! It's a regular breakout. But I have a big hill in the roller coaster coming through! I've had this thought in my head for a while now! **

* * *

The men clad in black shot at them recklessly, thinking they were gaining the upper hand. But in reality, the small fight was a distraction for Tony to grab Evie and get her out. On Tony's end so far, it had been dead silence, which only made Steve a little more on edge.

"Widow!" Steve heard Clint yell to her as a bullet lodged into her arm. One arm went down, but she switched the gun into the other hand and continued to shoot with only a wince on her face.

Between the rounds she shot, Widow yelled in response, "I'm fine! Stark can't be much longer!" Steve just hoped she was right. His biggest fear was that he might not get Evie out in time and their entire plan will go downhill. He should have gone, not Stark. He didn't even know why he had let Tony go instead of him. Steve would have been much more efficient in strategizing a plan to get her out than Stark would ever have been.

A crackle and pop a second later made Steve realize that Tony was entering the com system. "We've got a bit of a problem here, Capsicle." Without a second thought, Steve ran down the corridor, leaving Widow and Hawkeye on their own. He knew that they could handle themselves easily enough.

"On my way," he breathed as he raced around corners, occasionally running into a few guards that he easily took down. As he rounded the corner, he heard shouts echo down the hall. They were all mangled together so it made it harder to decipher whose voices they were. But when he got closer, he recognized two of the voices and gave them to Evie and Tony.

Steve could hear click of a gun, and then rounded the corner. He stared at the scene that played out. Evie held in some stranger's arms with a gun pointed at her head. She seemed oddly calm, but he could see the storm in her eyes. Then when he scanned her over, Steve didn't like what he saw. There were bruises covering her arms and faces. Maybe a scratch here or there. "Let her go, Rose!" Tony yelled in a growl. Steve had never heard such anger in Tony's voice before, which ever scared him a little. Then he turned to Evie, still keeping his aim on the man. "I told you not to run ahead of me."

The man threw his head back as he laughed. "You think a man cowering in armor is going to stop me from carrying out my plans? Adorable, Mr. Stark. But no, I have bigger plans for this young lady. This genius brain of her's is going to create even more of those centennials. The blueprints for Program-Y are gone; destroyed. But she's still here. And luckily, this is the best thing there is compared to some ratty blueprints. Don't you agree?"

Tony raised his arm and aimed. "Stark, don't. The blast will hit her too," Steve whispered to him. The red and gold arm lowered down to his side in an instant. The gun in the man's hand turned from Evie's temple to Tony. "The man is wearing a nearly impenetrable armor and you think a _gun _is going to do something to it?"

"Not a gun, but a bullet. And to be more precise," he began, then shot the round which landed on Tony's armor with a thump, "an electromagnetic pulse bullet. I've specifically designed it to stick to his armor then short out his circuits. Genius, isn't it?" Steve watched as the lights in the armor faded off, then it fell to the floor in a lump.

Evie's voice rang from her end of the hall in warning. "You need to get the helmet off him! He can't breath if the armor is offline!" _Not the first time that happened_, Steve thought to himself. He did has he was told and ripped off the mask. Tony let out a breath of relief as he tossed the golden plate to the side.

"I really need to do something about that," he realized with an expression of annoyance. This wouldn't have been the first time that Tony Stark had almost died, so Steve didn't think this one would phase him.

Steve turned away from Tony to look back up at the man who was now on the floor in a ball. Evie was kicking at the man furiously with no mercy. She was saying something inaudible for him to hear, but he thought he could hear cries from her. His accusations were right, he found. Evie fell to the ground a few meters away from him in a curled ball. He rushed to her a hurry, not giving a second thought.

In his arms, he didn't hear a word. Just a terrible sob that he wished he could stop. But comforting was never his strong point in life. So, he just sat there and held her without a word being said. Steve figured it worked when she stopped shuddering and she became quiet. Then her body become rigid and she looked at him. Neither of them moved an inch.

"Thanks," she murmured. Steve was the first to stand up, then he helped Evie onto her feet. He finally got a clear view of her. She looked...terrible. The bruises were even worse than he had first thought.

"What are you thanking me for?" he asked with all of the sincerity in the world.

"For saving me," she smiled. He hadn't seen that smile in a long time. She stood up eventually, pulling him up with her. "Come on. We need to get going now. Steve, pick up Tony's suit and let's get out of here."

He did as he was told. And as he dragged Tony down the hall with Evie leading the way, he heard Tony say one thing: "I think you're blushing."

* * *

They had all rendezvoused after Steve had called Natasha and Clint to withdraw. Neither of them argued with the order. Now Natasha and Clint were up front and flying the jet back to SHIELD. There was something still bothering Steve: how had Sebastian gotten his grimy little hands onto Program-Y in the first place? Was it SHIELD? Or was it something completely different?

After a few minutes of contemplating this, he spoke aloud without actually meaning to. "How do you think Sebastian got Program-Y?" Everyone turned and look at him, at first as if he was crazy, then as if he was a genius. "I mean, you said that Program-Y was discontinued; trashed, right?" Evie nodded, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Was it in realization? He didn't know. "So, how did he get it?"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Evie snapped quickly. Maybe she thought that they were accusing her of something and she was just going to her rescue. "Finding out how he got his hands on Program-Y won't do jack squat for us. What we need to do is figure out a way to disable Program-Y. That's our main priority."

"Let's all agree that what Cap said has been itching us all for a while. And let's agree again that Evie has a point. So, we'll start with the first question: Who and how?" Tony asked to no one in particular. "There's a possibility that someone gave Program-Y to him for a trade. A trade for what?"

"That's impossible, Tony. Program-Y was _decommissioned_. Scrapped. Thrown out. All because of SHIELD."

"Well, obviously, Program-Y wasn't decommissioned after all. So, do you think one of your friends saved the program and kept it and Sebastian stole it from them, then killed them off. It makes sense," said Steve. The gears in his mind whirred against each other. "You all were a bunch of teenagers. And no matter what kind of teenagers you were, they all hate being told what to do."

"This is ridiculous! We were all good kids and when the _government_ told us to get rid of the program and schematics, we did so," she defended. Why was she so keen on getting rid of this conversation? Steve had idea of why, but he just didn't want to believe it.

And Tony must have been thinking the same thing. "Is there something you want to tell us, Evie?"

She hesitated. Her arms were crossed over her body and her eyes were wide and cautious and afraid. Finally, she cracked underneath the pressure of their stares. "Fine. I kept Program-Y."

"You did what?" Natasha's voice growled from the front of the jet, which swerved to the side. She got up from her seat and stomped over to Evie. The plane didn't move an inch. Natasha grabbed her and held her up against the wall. "Do you see what your ignorance as done? You've killed people. Innocent people. You have blood on your hands. You didn't stop to think about the consequences when you saved that program? You didn't stop to think why a government agent came to you and _demanded _that you decommission Program-Y?"

"Of course I didn't," Evie spat back at her without any fear in her voice. "I was a seventeen year old kid who didn't know any better. And when a government agent came to me and told me to decommission my work that took me a year to create, do you think I would just cooperate? Of course not."

Natasha backed away. "Well, I hoped you learned your lesson."

"Do you honestly think I haven't?" she asked with a frightening amount of anger in her voice, and instead of it rising higher, it went down to a whisper, which made it even more frightening. "I lost the only friends in my entire life because of my idiocy, so don't you dare lecture my on learning my lesson. Don't you dare."

The two women stood still, staring each other down. No one knew who would break first. "Natasha, I need you back up here." Natasha left first and went back up to Clint to help steer the jet.

Evie took a seat in the corner. She payed no attention to anyone as she sat there and stared at the wall. Steve could have sworn that he saw a tear fall from her chin.

* * *

**Extra long chapter for an overdue update! I'll probably start writing my chapters longer like I did with this one more often. **


End file.
